


Mask

by starrylitme



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Anxiety, Detectives, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Harassment, Idols, SHSL Rare Pair Week, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 10:37:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4603578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrylitme/pseuds/starrylitme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maizono Sayaka plays the part of the cheerful, inspiring idol who's always smiling for the camera but walks a very thin line to stay in fame's good graces. Kirigiri may respect her on a professional level but does not expect any personal relationship outside of their being classmates at HPA.</p>
<p>Which makes it all the more surprising when Maizono comes to her for help. Especially since it involves a matter the idol could only downplay if not cheerfully ignore on camera. Maizono may be an idol, but there's only so much she can take.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mask

**Author's Note:**

> I like character studies with a serious situation, especially if said situation is often overlooked or downplayed, so I thought I'd attempt something like that with Kirizono for RPW. It's interesting!
> 
> So yeah, this isn't cute compared to the last two. I can only go so long with writing cute. But it's helped me realize just how interesting Kirizono can be considering their personalities and backgrounds so that's a plus.

Maizono Sayaka is a name she’s heard before; how could she not? When her first single hit the streets, it was as though the child idol had become a household name overnight.

She may have never seen her in concert or even picked up a CD of hers, but she had seen her face through billboards and advertisements—always with an angelic smile, pose, and wink—and then there were her songs, which would always be playing be it on the radio or someone’s music player.

The songs, in the very least, were earnest and bright. Lovely, really, but she had little time to sit around and enjoy pop songs regardless of quality. Still, she respected the idol for putting out her work and for smiling as wide and expertly as she did for the camera.

A formal respect for someone she’d likely never personally interact with—she’d always been perfectly fine being on that level.

When she ended up attending that school—Maizono was not on her mind even as she figured she’d be a classmate there. She met her, of course; Maizono gave her a smile and a wave along with a polite introduction that almost seemed tailored from a studio, but the brightness of her gaze as she met her own was sincerely excited.

There were little ticks in her behavior as well that contrasted against that perfect idol image—the twitch of her otherwise perfect smile, the way she tugged on a strand of blue a bit too hard when twirling it around her finger, and that her laugh wasn’t always just the right pitch of upbeat.

Little ticks—likely unnoticed by the untrained eye that were, of course, overlooked by the majority of their classmates and teachers, but she would not be the one to shed light on such things, especially since Maizono was not a concern of hers.

Maizono was her classmate. Maizono was friendly towards her as she was with everyone else—always asking the expected curious questions from a classmate getting to know her peers, and the only thing she truly appreciated was that Maizono never mentioned her father when talking to her. It was such an easy target, one she was well-prepared for but still irritated with, and yet Maizono dodged the topic with grace whenever it came up, if not changed the subject quickly and fluidly.

Of course, she suspected it was due to more personal reasons on Maizono’s part than tact and perceptiveness, but it was still something that was a bit of a relief. Something that helped warm her to Maizono’s presence.

Something that stilled her all the more when Maizono took her gloved hands, squeezed them tight, and looked at her with a wide, pleading gaze.

“Kirigiri-san, I don’t know if this is true—I’ve only heard rumors but...” She immediately looks down, almost ashamed before swallowing and carrying on, “If it were true, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. After all, Kirigiri-san is...very smart... and observant...”

“Maizono-san.” Kirigiri is careful as she intervenes. Maizono meets her gaze again, stricken, and she asks, “What is your request?”

“I... I need your help, detective.” Her hands are gripped tighter, her classmate’s shoulders are starting to shake. “There’s someone who I think is...stalking me... and harassing my friends and coworkers. I want this person found and stopped before someone is seriously, seriously hurt. So, Kirigiri-san, if you’re really—!”

“I understand. I’ll look into it, then.”

Maizono stops immediately. “So... It’s alright, then? I’m... I’m sorry to have bothered you but I’m worried about going to the police about something like this again. It got really bad last time...”

“Do you think it’s the same person, Maizono-san?”

“No, they, er... It’s not them. They were arrested.” There was something to her troubled expression that alerted Kirigiri that were was something...off, about the statement. Especially in how Maizono hesitated. But the disagreement, in the very least, was genuine, so she might as well look at a different possibility.

“Alright.” Kirigiri says simply, tugging her hands back though the other girl still hasn’t loosened her grip. “We can discuss this in further detail later—or right now, if you’d like. Whichever option looks more comfortable.”

Maizono nodded, releasing her hands before bowing at an angle that was a few degrees too acute. “Thank you, Kirigiri-san!!”

“Your gratitude is unnecessary. Such is my job after all.”

Maizono giggles at that as she straightens up, albeit weakly. “But, Kirigiri-san, you don’t like your classmates being involved, right? That is why, isn’t it, you’ve yet to have your talent formally announced, right?”

“...You really should focus on your own troubles, Maizono-san.”

“I’m sorry. But I do worry about you, Kirigiri-san. Since we’re friends and all.”

_...Friends...?_

“If that is what you believe, Maizono-san.”

Maizono’s smile then was bright, genuine, and Kirigiri could only swallow.

* * *

When they meet up again, it’s in Kirigiri’s own room. The decoration is minimal, though she does keep some novels handy in case she’s ever bored, organized along with her study materials like any diligent student. Still, Maizono looks around in interest and wonder, almost like she was trying to memorize each and every little detail—pick up on even the smallest thing.

“Kirigiri-san, you could have at least put up some posters. Maybe from a movie?”

“I’ll think about it,” Kirigiri answers, knowing how likely it is she’ll actually consider such a thing before patting a spot on her bed, indicating the other girl where to sit. Maizono’s smile does fade a bit and she follows the implicit directions, seating herself daintily on the edge.

Kirigiri takes a seat in the chair at her desk, pulling it out and twisting it so that they can face each other. She then takes out her pen and notepad, clicking the utensil audibly, noting that Maizono does surprisingly flinch at the soft, unassuming noise. “Maizono-san, shall we start from the beginning? When did you first suspect...?”

“It wasn’t serious until a few weeks ago—but I’ve been worrying for a few months now, I think. I may have had a bad feeling before but maybe I just brushed it off as the usual anxiety.” She coughs a bit into her hand, clearing her throat and it’s an action that catches her attention. Still, Kirigiri’s gaze just as quickly drops back to her paper, to where she’s scribbling the information down.

“I see, and...?”

“Messages. I started getting messages.” Maizono fidgets with her hands in a clear sign of anxiety. “First, it was the usual fan mail but it was more unsettling than the other stuff.”

_You’re so beautiful, Sayaka-chan._

_The world doesn’t deserve you._

_I wish the world didn’t have you._

_You’re wasting your talent catering to such_ **_lowly_** —

“I hated their language.” Her voice was cold, tight. “I always hate it when someone insults my fans, even if they’re a fan as well. And this one insulted my coworkers, too, and that’s just the worst. They’re such wonderful girls and I wouldn’t be where I was without them.”

She fisted her hands into her skirt, tight enough to bleed wrinkles into the fabric. She had gone quiet for a moment, staring darkly down, a slight tremor going through her shoulders. Kirigiri blinked, observing each little tick in the idol’s posture, and catching how her shoulders slumped, a sigh escaping her lips.

“I’m sorry,” Maizono meekly apologized. It almost sounded like another performance but she believed it. “It was just messages at first. And they got more and more disturbing. It evolved from suspicious to outright threats. I still have them saved. My manager tried getting them traced but rather than solving the problem there, they... They actually attacked one of my concerts. Threw something at the stage. It hit Ayaka-chan. I ended up screaming.”

Did she hear about this? She remembered, briefly, at some point before she decided to attend HPA that Yui turned the television to a news station. Maizono was being interviewed, and she was smiling like the perfect doll, as the reporters had on their best show of sympathy.

_“It must have been so rough, Sayaka-chan.”_

_“Yes,” her smile brightened. “But I’m just_ so _relieved no one was seriously hurt.”_

“When news got out that I was going to attend HPA, the messages only got worse. And so did the harassment. But I can’t just draw any more attention to this.” Maizono shook her head, taking a deep breath and steeling herself. “It has to stop. I can’t take this kind of abuse. It’s hard enough as it is! I’ve worked too much for this!”

“I understand,” Kirigiri responded. “You don’t have to worry. My work as a detective is generally discreet.”

“I’m so sorry I have to push this onto one of my classmates. But when I heard... I thought, maybe...”

“You needn’t say more, Maizono-san.” She holds up her hand. “You can just send me the messages and write up any more information that may be useful. I will have to talk to your manager and coworkers, of course. There’s much to gather when it comes to investigations.”

The surprise of Maizono’s arms, springing around her shoulders, was enough that her pad and pen fell to the floor, plopping and rolling onto the carpet. She’s hugged tightly, and the other girl smells of oceanic and aromatic fragrances. She’s also warm. Warm enough that it’s almost overwhelming.

“...Maizono-san...” She’s careful in cautiously bringing her arms around to press against her classmate’s back and saying her classmate’s surname. Maizono sighs, and then...

“Kirigiri-san, there’s only so long I can keep wearing that face. That cheerful idol face—the one I put on for my fans every single time I’m out.”

Maizono’s voice was soft, her breathing puffing against her ear. Kirigiri fought back the impulse to shiver, but still breathed in her scent.

“Sometimes, I feel like I’m deceiving them. This person—whoever they are—they might be going too far, but they might have really seen right through all of that. That frightens me. It frightens me just like if they had thrown things at _me_.” Her breath hitched and she trembled, just a bit, falling into Kirigiri more. “It’s scary. It’s so, so scary. I just want to sing—I just want to be someone that others can look up to—I want to work with my wonderful friends—and I don’t understand _why_...”

Briefly, though not by much, she pulled back. Her blue eyes were blank, dulled, needing a shine. Kirigiri kept a neutral stare, but somehow, Maizono just cracked a smile, delicate fingers beginning to play with the lilac braid in her hair. A distraction, most likely.

All of this was likely to be a distraction.

“It’s really hard...” Maizono whispered, like she was telling a hurting secret. “Sometimes I don’t know how I can possibly manage... But looking at Kirigiri-san, how capable you are and how cool you can be... It’s so comforting...”

Kirigiri inhaled. “You’re admirable in your own way, Maizono-san.”

Her light giggle in response was bittersweet; her head tilted to the side oh so slightly. “You think so? That makes me so happy to hear...”

The way Maizono’s smile drew closer had her still almost completely. Later, she’d compare it to a trance, brought out by this proximity and just the feel of being surrounded by her _presence_. It hadn’t been like with any other girl—and yet Maizono Sayaka...

Maizono Sayaka’s kiss was as soft and sweet as she suspected it would be. The brushing of their lips together was delicate, painstakingly tender, and even as it deepened and her mouth parted along with the other, it felt like the two of them were treading so very cautiously against that boundary and holding one another tight so they wouldn’t tumble over it.

When Maizono pulled back, she tucked wayward strands of blue behind her ear and averted her gaze shyly, almost shamefully. Kirigiri could only release the sigh she had been holding the entire time.

“You really shouldn’t make decisions so rashly,” she said, reaching out to brush the rest of Maizono’s fringe from her face. Those blue eyes drifted towards her, open and wide, yet frightened to an extent as well. Kirigiri’s sigh was softer. “You might end up regretting them.”

“I know,” her admittance was rather glum. “Kirigiri-san, I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” _Ah, why...?_ “This has been hard on you.”

“Yeah,” Maizono’s agreement was a bit more chipper as she finally—regrettably—pulled away completely. “Kirigiri-san, I trust you. Thank you for all of this. Really.”

“It’s really nothing. Maizono-san, why don’t you get going and we’ll meet up later...?”

“Of course!” she exclaimed, brightly. Yes, she had definitely once again embraced her chipper, cheery idol persona. She stood up straight, brushing her skirt down and adjusting it and—Kirigiri might have stared a bit longer at those motions than necessarily with an excessive amount of intensity—then she twirled around, the fabric whooshing against her thighs. Kirigiri swallowed as she waved. “Well, then, see you, Kirigiri-san!”

“Yes...” Her voice was bit bland, especially compared to Maizono’s girlish giggle. Finally, the idol stepped out, shutting the door behind her.

Kirigiri belated gathered her fallen things from the floor, flipping through the notes she took and rereading them quickly before placing them on her desk. Darkly, she wondered if her father was going to be involved, before shaking off the unpleasant thought and just going over what she did know about what would have to happen in her head.

Without really needing it, many of those thoughts turned to Maizono Sayaka. The cheerful idol, her friendly classmate, her distressed client—all those little ticks that made up a blue-haired girl with eyes of the sea, and a smile that had been perfected even as that performance slipped from time to time. All these things that made up a girl she kissed.

She might have figured out too much about Maizono. As if it’d make up for it, she swore she’d catch the person terrorizing her. Quickly, swiftly, with justice dealt as such. And then after that... She and Maizono...

For once, she found herself at a bit of a loss.


End file.
